


The Gang

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Jeronica, Jughead x Veronica, Pizza, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, fangs, jughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, southside serpetns, sweetpea - Freeform, toni topaz - Freeform, veronica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 02:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13694676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: Jughead’s heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears, feel it in the back of his throat while his head throbbed.“That’s…Toni, you’ve officially lost your mind.” He replied as he fidgeted with the strap of his helmet.But she only continued to smirk at him, feeling satisfied with herself from cracking the code of Jughead’s inner most thoughts and feelings when it came to Veronica Lodge.“I’ll see you later.” He said as he got on his bike and started the engine.





	The Gang

“I just don’t understand why you guys invited her without telling me.” Jughead said with a scowl as he leaned against the bar of the Whyt Wyrm.

“Dude, relax. We’re just going to hang out at Segarini’s up the street for some pizza. It’s not like we invited her to something important.” Sweetpea said as he threw a dart at one of the bar’s dartboards, hitting the bullseye without breaking a sweat.

“You guys know I don’t like to mix my groups of friends. It’s…weird.”

Toni chuckled.

“No. You’re weird. Besides, I thought you didn’t really consider Veronica your friend, so it doesn’t count.”

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean, Toni. And she’s…you know…Betty’s best friend and Archie’s ex. It would be…awkward.”

Fangs shook his head, chuckling.

“Would it, though? I mean, have you even thought to consider that there’s more to Veronica than just those two things?”

Jughead ran his hands over his face, frustrated with his fellow gang members and best friends on the Southside.

Ever since they had all started going to school at Riverdale High, the Serpents had found Veronica Lodge to be the official Welcome Wagon.

She had ingratiated herself so well with all of them that they had even been hanging out with her outside of school. Jughead couldn’t grasp how, of all people, Veronica Lodge had been accepted into their fold.

But he was hungry for pizza and he wanted to hang out with the Serpents, so he went along to Segarini’s where Veronica was already at the front counter signing a piece of paper.

“Dinner is on me, guys! I just put it on my tab.” She said with a big grin on her pretty face.

“Order whatever you like.”

Jughead’s friends immediately thanked her before giving their food orders to Mr. Segarini. But Jughead hung back, unsure and uneasy about Veronica’s extreme kindness. He would only wonder what her intentions were.

“Jughead Jones! I didn’t know you’d be joining us.” She said brightly at she sipped on a fountain soda.

Jughead frowned.

“Yeah, I didn’t know you would be either until about 15 minutes ago.” He replied, clearly irritated by her presence.

She rolled her eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not trying to buy your friends. I genuinely like Toni, Fangs…and especially Sweetpea. He’s really…sweet.” She said with a sly grin.

Jughead shook his head, frustrated.

“You can understand why I would have a hard time believing you, right? I mean, you’re not the most trustworthy person I know.”

Veronica scoffed.

“Seriously? You think I’m untrustworthy? What about you Mr. High and Mighty? When did you suddenly become a saint?” She seethed as she angrily put a hand on her hip.

“Okay, okay, guys. You two are obviously hangry. How about you just sit down and eat a slice of this wonderful supreme pizza we just ordered.” Toni said as she stood in between Jughead and Veronica, her arms up as if she would have to stop one from physically attacking the other.

Jughead and Veronica glared at each other, but finally relented and sat down on opposite ends of the table.

Jughead ate his Veronica-bought pizza quietly while he listened to Veronica enchant the Serpents. She gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “snake charmer.” She was, without a doubt, charming his friends with her funny stories about growing up in New York and how she would walk six blocks from her apartment to get the best bagels in the city.

“I miss those bagels so much.” She said with a sigh.

Jughead didn’t want to admit that he could identify with her when it came to loving a specific food item so much, you’d go as far as you had to in order to get it.

And he tried not to show any interest when Veronica and Toni began to get into an intense conversation about poetry while Fangs and Sweetpea continued to stuff their faces with pizza. But she was talking about Browning, Hemingway, and even Sappho. He had no idea Veronica would even know anything about the first female poet from ancient Greece.

“If there’s one thing I don’t think I could live without. It’s poetry. Forget money, food, or even sex. Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”

That was it. He’d had it.

“Fuck, Veronica, you did not just quote Poe.” Jughead said as he tossed his uneaten pizza crust onto his dinner plate, disgusted.

Everyone looked up at him with surprised looks on their faces. Not understanding his sudden outburst at all. He got up and grabbed his jacket.

“Thanks for dinner. I’m ghosting.”

Jughead stormed out to his waiting motorcycle, so enraged that he couldn’t wait to ride off into the night at top speed.

But he was stopped in his tracks by a voice behind him.

“Jughead! Jughead, wait!”

He turned to see Toni running after him, a concerned look on her face.

“What the hell was that? She quotes your favorite poet and you lose your shit?” She asked once she was standing in front of him.

Jughead ran his hand through his dark hair, feeling a lot more frazzled than he should.

“I just…I can’t watch Veronica worm her way into our gang. She…she doesn’t belong. She’s not one of us.”

But Toni just gave him a look as though she didn’t believe a word he was saying.

“You’re afraid of her.” Toni said, a knowing smile forming on her face.

Jughead flashed an annoyed look at his best friend.

“Why the hell would I be afraid of her? Never mind. Don’t answer that. I don’t even want to know what ridiculous reasons you have for thinking that I’m afraid of the Northside snob queen.”

But Toni chuckled.

“You’re afraid of her because you’re attracted to her. And you think she would look down on you. So it’s better to hold her at a distance, not give her a chance to show you that she’s so much more than what you think. Because…Jughead Jones…deep down you like her. You like her a lot. Shit, you might even love her.”

Jughead’s heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears, feel it in the back of his throat while his head throbbed.

“That’s…Toni, you’ve officially lost your mind.” He replied as he fidgeted with the strap of his helmet.

But she only continued to smirk at him, feeling satisfied with herself from cracking the code of Jughead’s inner most thoughts and feelings when it came to Veronica Lodge.

“I’ll see you later.” He said as he got on his bike and started the engine.

He peeled out of the parking lot, feeling as though he couldn’t get away from Toni’s discerning eyes as well as Veronica’s potential to obliterate him mentally and emotionally. He didn’t want to think about her as more than what he’d always boxed her in as in his mind. Self-preservation was all he had.

But the next morning at school, he sat with his fellow gang members in the corner of the library that was designated just for them when holding their club meetings.

Once again, his security was derailed when Veronica walked into the library and over to where they were meeting with a box of donuts in her hands.

“Why do you have this intense need to buy us food like we’re your little pets?” Jughead fumed as he stood up from his seat, not even thinking about how cruel he sounded, only that he didn’t think he could handle another meal with her.

Veronica stopped in her tracks as her smile faded.

He had really done it this time. The usually unshakable, unaffected, hot-headed Latina beauty suddenly had tears in her eyes as she sat down the box of donuts and turned around. She left the library quickly, wiping her eyes as she disappeared through the double doors.

“What the fuck, Jug?” Fangs asked as he stared in disbelief at his friend.

Jughead said nothing as he looked over at Toni who was shaking her head, looking at him as if she couldn’t be more disappointed in him for what he’d just done.

“I’ll go see if she’s okay.” Sweetpea said as he stood up.

Jughead immediately clenched his fists.

“No. I’ll go.” He nearly growled as he scowled at the handsome Serpent that had apparently caught Veronica’s eye.

Jughead left the library and headed for the student lounge cappuccino machine, where he found Veronica, just as he thought he would.

As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he knew her much better than he dared ever let on to anyone.

She stood with her head down, stirring the coffee, wiping the tears she’d been crying with a tissue. He felt like the biggest asshole in the world knowing he was the reason she was so upset.

“Veronica?”

He expected an angry glare when she looked up at him, but instead, she looked almost grateful. Almost as if she’d wanted him to come after her but didn’t think he would.

“I’m…I’m sorry. That was really shitty of me. I had no right to treat you that way for doing something nice.” He said sincerely as he approached her.

Veronica wiped her eyes, and ran her fingers through her hair. No matter how much she had cried, she still looked breathtaking. His heart thundered in his chest.

“It’s okay, Jug. I understand why you are so guarded when it comes to me. I’ve never been a very good friend before. I guess…I guess I’m just trying to change that. Because I…I want us to be friends. I thought by getting the Serpents to like me that maybe…maybe you would like me too. God…I feel so stupid for saying that.”

Jughead couldn’t help but smile.

“You were doing all of this to get me to like you?” He asked, not sure if he had understood her right.

Veronica blushed, something he hadn’t ever seen her do before. It was incredibly endearing and only made his heart thump harder.

“I just feel like…and this might sound strange, but…I feel like we have this connection. This unspoken energy between us. I don’t know…I guess I just thought that since you’re not with Betty anymore and I’m not with Archie, that maybe we could…explore whatever that connection might be.” She said as she let out a pent up sigh.

She looked at Jughead closely as she took his hand in hers.

“Do you feel it at all? Or am I just crazy?”

Jughead held his breath as he became fully aware that her skin was touching his. He’d never touched Veronica before and he couldn’t deny that he had felt the very same connection she had felt.

“You’re not crazy, Veronica. I feel it too. I feel it, but I’ve tried to deny it. I didn’t think you would ever want anything to do with me.”

He couldn’t stop his hand from cupping her face as he ran his thumb gently over her cheek, gazing into her eyes and seeing her for everything she was that he had tried to ignore. But the truth was, he’d always seen her as more. So much more. But his fears had forced him to build a wall up between them.

He couldn’t hold the wall up any longer.

Veronica smiled amorously at him as she took his face in her hands.

“I want everything to do with you, Jughead Jones. I have for a long time.”

She stood on her tiptoes so she could press her lips to his, gently and timidly, as if she was afraid he would reject her kiss. But he couldn’t. He was in far deeper than he’d even realized, and he found himself so lost in her kiss that he hadn’t noticed that his fellow Serpents had flooded into the student lounge, until he suddenly heard a chorus of whoops and hollers as he and Veronica continued to give into something they had both wanted for so long.

“I think they’re happy for us.” Veronica whispered softly as she and Jughead looked at each other, breathless from the unexpected turn of events between them.

“I think so too. And now, you probably owe them a lifetime of meals for making me realize how much I need you.”

Veronica chuckled.

“I think I can handle that.”

The End.


End file.
